| Summary: | Barbara Kruger, a postmodern artist who emerged in the 1980’s, systematically embeds texts with images which pertain to a feminist rhetoric and convey a moral, sarcastic, sharp and sometimes contemptuous criticism. Challenging the traditional notions of feminine and masculine, her works question the implications of a consumer society in which individuals identify with a symbolic universe and ideological norms. This article analyzes the reasons why Kruger’s works often induce psychological discomfort: it shows how the artist undermines the passivity engendered by the imposition of stereotypes and the way she blocks the fascination produced by images by introducing texts which contradict them. This relationship between texts and images is opposed to media conventions and usually results in a feeling of malaise (Unbehagen in Freudian terminology) in the audience who cannot always position themselves in relation to the messages. We will first focus on discomfort as a result of a relation domination/submission; the second part of this article will be devoted to the body as a disembodied object causing discomfort. We will then tackle the medical institution as a locus of pain and suffering. Finally, the last part will analyse the uncanny atmosphere conveyed by Kruger’s works which calls to mind Orwell’s in 1984.
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